Archive for the ‘Statement of Faith’

Several stories hit the Southern Gospel news this week. Here they are as they happened:

From a press release by the Dixie Melody Boys, their 50th Anniversary album is now complete:

Dixie Melody Boys Finish Historic Album

The Dixie Melody Boys were recently in Nashville finishing work on their 50th Anniversary album, “The Call Is Still The Same”. The monumental project is a long time in the making. “It’s been nearly ten years since we have done a project of this scale. It will be a milestone for the Dixie Melody Boys. “said Ed O’Neal, Hall Of Fame bass singer and owner. To honor the history of this legendary group, they have included two previous DMB songs on the album. The rest of the project includes new material written by Gospel musics top writers including Daryl Williams, Marty Funderburk, Greg Day and Rodney Griffen. The album also boasts two songs written by lead singer Donald Morris. The new album highlights the current groups new direction and sound. “We are excited to blend our traditional Southern Gospel roots with a fresh approach reminisant of the DMB Band era.” stated Donald Morris.

The Dixie Melody Boys will be joined on this historic album by many former DMB Alumni as well as a few friends. “When we started working on this, so many of our friends wanted to be involved. It evolved from there into having them lend their talents on several of the songs. It will truly be a special event for us.” said tenor Matt Felts. Jason Crabb, Ernie Haase, Ben Speer, McCray Dove, Rodney Griffen and Harold Reed are just a few of the guests appearing. This will be the debut album for the group since signing with Song Garden Music Group earlier this year. A release date of July 1st has been set. A “CD Release Event” will be announced soon. For more information on the new album or where you can purchase a copy of this years must have album, go to www.dixiemelodyboys.com or to www.songgardenmusicgroup.com.

If you’re going to celebrate such a monumental event in a group’s career, that’s the way to do it; bring in a lot of the more well-known alumni to sing on the project. It is interesting to note that this will not only mark the group’s 50th year of ministry, but it will also be tenor Matt Felts’ first recording with them. All in all, it is shaping up to be a project well worth the purchase

Speaking of the Dixie Melody Boys, it’s looking like they will be at NQC after all. In the first Singing News Showcase (the “straw poll” for the Fan Awards), the group will appear with both current members and alumni to celebrate their anniversary. It will be interesting to see exactly who will be on the stage among the alumni (the Ed O’Neal University has many graduates!)

Statement of Faith Trio has reorganized as Promise. Lead Joe Kitson and David Mann, along with TJ Evans starting in June, will make up the new group. Mann’s wife Jael will be filling in on tenor until Evans can join. Tenor Jacob Kitson’s plans are to be announced, so be looking for more on this story next week.

I haven’t found the time to update the blog in the past couple of days, so here’s a roundup of what I missed:

1. Tony Jarman joins the Down East Boys – Daniel Mount has the scoop: the former Poet Voices, Legacy Five, and Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet tenor has joined the quartet after the end of Jason Runnels’ eight-year run. Jarman starts on January 13. I’ve thought for quite some time that the Down East Boys are one of the most underrated quartets out there, and this newest addition to the group may be what they need to produce some music that will give them some well-deserved attention.

Nate Pritchard has posted a video on Burke’s Brainwork of one of Tony’s big songs of his L5 days, but I’ll post one of my personal favorites: this performance of “Little Is Much” is taken from the Live At The Palace video that L5 did with Greater Vision, and features Jarman out front with piano as the only instrumentation, leaving that clear tenor to deliver the song unmarred by an overly loud track.

2. David Mann joins Statement of Faith – Right on the heels of the news of the trio’s former baritone heading to The Inspirations, they have announced that Mann will join his brothers-in-law. Mann comes from a stint of a few years with the Blackwood Quartet, and I have always been impressed with his voice. His talent, combined with those of Jacob and Joe Kitson, will make for a great trio in Statement of Faith. Their debut project already impressed me; their next should be even better.

Here’s a clip of him singing baritone for the Blackwood Quartet. The lineup at the time this clip is tenor Dale Evans, lead Mark Blackwood, baritone David Mann, and bass Chris West.

3. There are clips floating around of Craig West’s debut as Gold City’s lead singer. I won’t post them all, but here’s one of a Gold City standard: Midnight Cry. Craig’s voice possess the soul-tinged vocals of Michael English, while having the power of Josh Feemster or early Ivan Parker. If this clip doesn’t convince you that West fits the group like a glove, I don’t know what will.

If you look at comments on the various SG blogs these past couple of weeks, speculation and question has abounded as to who would be taking the baritone spot in The Inspirations following the sudden departure of Melton Campbell. That question was answered this morning via Daniel Mount: it is Jon Epley. Epley formerly sang baritone with Jacob Kitson (former Greater Vision tenor) and Jacob’s brother Joe in the new trio Statement of Faith. He announced this on his Facebook, but look for an announcement from the Inspirations group in the coming weeks.

I haven’t posted a review of Statement of Faith’s debut project on this site (yet!), but I will say that Epley will be a great fit with the Inspirations. He is a great singer, and, as Daniel Mount mentions, also plays piano, so he can fill in if Martin Cook should ever have to miss a date.

Be looking for an announcement about a new baritone for Statement of Faith soon!

The former Greater Vision tenor announced his plans yesterday in this press release:

Wednesday May, 12 2010Jefferson City, TN–

When Jacob Kitson’s departure from Greater Vision was announced last month, many folks wondered what this young award-winning tenor was going to do next in his work for the Lord. The wait is over with the announcement of a new male trio called Statement of Faith. The new group is working on their first release and will officially begin touring on July 4, 2010.

Jacob says of this new ministry endeavor, “I am excited to share the news of this new group. The name Statement of Faith speaks for itself. We want to make a statement, not for us but for the Lord. We live in a time when many avenues of ministry are becoming more and more vague, and Statement of Faith desires to take a clear and firm stand on who and what we sing about.”

Statement of Faith will include Jacob Kitson as the tenor. Jacob has recently been a part of two award-winining groups– fan favorite Greater Vision and the Horizon group for 2008, Tribute Quartet. He brings energy and enthusiasm to the stage along with his great tenor voice and heart for souls. He is joined by younger brother Joe Kitson, who has traveled with the legendary Dixie Melody Boys. Joe’s smooth lead voice and great personality make him a perfect fit to compliment Jacob each night. Rounding out the trio is Jonathan Epley, new to the national gospel music scene but no stranger to gospel music itself. He has traveled with his family and several groups and most recently has been a minister of music for the past year and a half. He brings to the group not only a great baritone vocal, but also is quite a pianist as well. People will fall in love with his heartfelt singing and positive spirit wherever Statement of Faith travels, and collectively this trio is excited and ready to share their music and preaching with the world.

It is the hope of Statement Of Faith to continue carrying the torch of Gospel music to the next generation. This trio’s greatest hope is that they encourage your soul, strengthen your faith, and find a place in your heart for many years to come.

Project Review Policy

To comply with FTC guidelines, we at Swain's Musings state that, unless otherwise mentioned, the projects that this blog reviews were given to the reviewer(s) free of charge. This does not have any bearing on the final rating and is not even taken into consideration when reviewing the project. Due to recent guideline changes, this statement is necessary, because these guidelines assume that a more favorable review is given when the product is received for free.

Contact me at aaron@swainsmusings.com for information on how to get your project to me for review.